Facebook: We're Not A "Spying Machine"

Facebook has responded to Julian Assange's criticism that the
site is an "appalling
spying machine" that could be used by government agencies to
get detailed personal information about dissidents.

Facebook
told Forbes that in fact it does NOT have a special interface
built for information requests by law enforcement agencies
(although other companies
like Sprint do).

Instead, law enforcement has to fill out
this form each time they make a request. A dedicated team at
Facebook then decides whether to comply.

The company also said that it does not respond to coercion, only
to subpoenas. Facebook
has challenged at least one such subpoena in the past, and
says it hopes to take a case to trial to set a legal precedent so
it doesn't get so many requests in the future.

That said, Facebook will comply with subpoena requests, and can
be forced turn over almost everything you post through the site
-- contact information, likes, even your lists of friends.